The Mycoplasma are a wide-spread group of bacteria. Species such as M. pneumonia and M. genitalium cause disease in humans. Related species cause disease in plants. M. bovis is considered one of the more pathogenic species and causes pneumonia, mastitis, and arthritis in cattle. In research laboratories, Mycoplasma species are frequent contaminants in cell cultures.
Mycoplasma are characterized by the absence of a cell wall. Unfortunately, the most important group of antibiotics, the beta-lactams (which include both the penicillins and the cephalosporins) function by inhibiting cell wall synthesis. With important antibiotics such as these unavailable for the treatment of Mycoplasma infections, there is a need for new and rapid methods and apparatus for the detection of these species so that they may be quickly detected on occurrence and controlled or eradicated before the spread thereof.